Best Soneela Nankani Audiobooks

The best audiobooks narrated by Soneela Nankani — 12 titles spanning Thriller, Fantasy, Non-Fiction, Biography & Memoir, Sci-Fi, Romance, averaging 4.23 ABR stars.

Read more

Soneela Nankani has quietly built a reputation as one of the more versatile voices working in genre fiction today, with a particular foothold in the Star Wars universe that feels genuinely earned. Her solo performance in Tempest Runner — a full-cast audio drama format that put her front and center as the Nihil villain Lourna Dee — showcased her ability to carry a morally complex character with a cool, coiled intensity that never tips into melodrama. That same control shows up in her work on the anthology From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back, where she had to pivot rapidly between wildly different characters and tones without losing the thread. Her voice is clear and precise — not flashy, but deeply committed — with an emotional intelligence that suits character-driven material across mystery, fantasy, and horror. Listeners who want a narrator who disappears into the story rather than performing over it will find a lot to love here.

Where to Start with Soneela Nankani

  1. 1
    The President's Daughter cover

    The President's Daughter

    by Bill Clinton, James Patterson

    Narrated by Tony Goldwyn, Fajer Al-Kaisi, James Chen, Jeremy Davidson, Amanda Dolan, Peter Ganim, Dion Graham, January LaVoy, Mary Stuart Masterson, Soneela Nankani

    4.62 ABR Score (62.2K ratings)
    ★ 4.28 Goodreads (53.5K) ★ 4.69 Audible (8.7K)
    More about this pick

    Tony Goldwyn leads an all-star ensemble cast through a propulsive thriller that feels like watching a prestige TV series unfold in your ears. The multiple narrators give each character distinct weight, turning what could be a pulpy premise into genuinely immersive storytelling.

  2. 2
    The Empire of Gold cover

    The Empire of Gold

    The Daevabad Trilogy • Book 3

    by S.A. Chakraborty

    Narrated by Soneela Nankani

    4.61 ABR Score (79.1K ratings)
    ★ 4.49 Goodreads (76.6K) ★ 4.76 Audible (2.4K)
  3. 3
    The Kingdom of Copper cover

    The Kingdom of Copper

    The Daevabad Trilogy • Book 2

    by S.A. Chakraborty

    Narrated by Soneela Nankani

    4.55 ABR Score (96.1K ratings)
    ★ 4.38 Goodreads (93.4K) ★ 4.7 Audible (2.7K)
  4. 4
    The City of Brass cover

    The City of Brass

    The Daevabad Trilogy • Book 1

    by S.A. Chakraborty

    Narrated by Soneela Nankani

    4.35 ABR Score (161.4K ratings)
    ★ 4.14 Goodreads (157.5K) ★ 4.41 Audible (3.9K)
    More about this pick

    Cairo con artist Nahri accidentally summons a djinn warrior in this Islamic fantasy epic, brought to vivid life by Soneela Nankani's immersive performance.

  5. 5
    Trial of the Sun Queen cover

    Trial of the Sun Queen

    Artefacts of Ouranos • Book 1

    by Nisha J. Tuli

    Narrated by Corvin King, Soneela Nankani

    4.28 ABR Score (157.9K ratings)
    ★ 3.89 Goodreads (152.3K) ★ 4.41 Audible (5.5K)
    More about this pick

    Ten women compete in deadly trials for the chance to marry the Sun King and escape their past lives as Tributes. Fantasy competition with genuine stakes and a protagonist determined to win at any cost.

  6. 6
    Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions cover

    Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions

    by Gloria Steinem

    Narrated by Barrie Kreinik, Gabra Zackman, Gloria Steinem, Robin Miles, Soneela Nankani

    4.25 ABR Score (5.3K ratings)
    ★ 4.19 Goodreads (5.1K) ★ 4.89 Audible (165)
  7. 7
    That Good Night: Life and Medicine in the Eleventh Hour cover

    That Good Night: Life and Medicine in the Eleventh Hour

    by Sunita Puri

    Narrated by Soneela Nankani, Sunita Puri

    4.21 ABR Score (2.5K ratings)
    ★ 4.47 Goodreads (2.2K) ★ 4.73 Audible (240)
    More about this pick

    Dr. Puri bridges her immigrant parents' spiritual beliefs with American palliative care medicine in this deeply personal memoir. Having the author narrate alongside Soneela Nankani adds intimate authenticity to these end-of-life reflections.

  8. 8
    The Ruin of Kings cover

    The Ruin of Kings

    A Chorus of Dragons • Book 1

    by Jenn Lyons

    Narrated by Feodor Chin, Soneela Nankani, Vikas Adam

    4.05 ABR Score (17.6K ratings)
    ★ 3.82 Goodreads (16.1K) ★ 4.19 Audible (1.5K)
  9. 9
    Elsewhere cover

    Elsewhere

    by Dean Koontz

    Narrated by Edoardo Ballerini, Imani Parks, Josh Bloomberg, Brian Holden, Kevin T. Collins, Soneela Nankani, Alexander Cendese, Amanda Leigh Cobb

    4.03 ABR Score (27.5K ratings)
    ★ 4.13 Goodreads (23.4K) ★ 4.26 Audible (4.2K)
    More about this pick

    A stellar ensemble cast elevates Koontz's multiverse thriller, with each narrator bringing distinct voices to characters jumping between realities, making the disorienting jumps feel genuinely immersive.

  10. 10
    Tempest Breaker (Star Wars: The High Republic) cover

    Tempest Breaker (Star Wars: The High Republic)

    Star Wars: The High Republic

    by Cavan Scott, Jessica Almasy, Jonanthan Davis, Sean Kenin Elias-Reyes, Manoel Felciano, January LaVoy, Saskia Maarleveld, Dani Martineck, Sneha Mathan, Soneela Nankani, Kristen Sieh, Marc Thompson, Shannon Tyo

    Narrated by Cavan Scott, Jessica Almasy, Jonanthan Davis, Sean Kenin Elias-Reyes, Manoel Felciano, January LaVoy, Saskia Maarleveld, Dani Martineck, Sneha Mathan, Soneela Nankani, Kristen Sieh, Marc Thompson, Shannon Tyo, Full Cast

    3.94 ABR Score (1.5K ratings)
    ★ 4.03 Goodreads (1.1K) ★ 4.55 Audible (313)
    More about this pick

    Former Tempest Runner Lourna Dee reluctantly teams with Jedi in this full-cast Star Wars adventure. Multiple narrators create distinct voices for this morally complex story.

  11. 11
    From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back cover

    From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back

    Star Wars • Book 39

    by Elizabeth Schaefer, Mark Oshiro, Rob Hart, Michael Moreci, Mike Chen, Beth Revis, Zoraida Córdova, Kiersten White, Lilliam Rivera, Mackenzi Lee, Amy Ratcliffe, Catherynne M. Valente, Emily Skrutskie, Tracy Deonn, C.B. Lee, Karen Strong, Delilah S. Dawson, Lydia Kang, Adam Christopher, Cavan Scott, R.F. Kuang, Tom Angleberger, S.A. Chakraborty, Seth Dickinson, Alexander Freed, Jason Fry, Christie Golden, Hank Green, Michael Kogge, John Jackson Miller, Daniel José Older, Anne Toole, Austin Walker, Martha Wells, Django Wexler, Gary Whitta, Brittany N. Williams, Charles Yu, Jim Zub, Katie Cook, Sarwat Chadda

    Narrated by Jonathan Davis, Sean Kenin Elias-Reyes, Dion Graham, Jon Hamm, January LaVoy, Soneela Nankani, Marc Thompson, Sam Witwer, Emily Woo Zeller

    3.93 ABR Score (7.5K ratings)
    ★ 3.85 Goodreads (5.9K) ★ 4.4 Audible (1.6K)
    More about this pick

    Forty writers and an all-star cast of narrators (including Jon Hamm and Sam Witwer) transform Empire into a anthology of revelation, making you hear the galaxy's most pivotal moments through entirely new eyes.

  12. 12
    Dating Dr. Dil cover

    Dating Dr. Dil

    If Shakespeare Were an Auntie • Book 1

    by Nisha Sharma

    Narrated by Soneela Nankani, Vikas Adam

    3.90 ABR Score (67.2K ratings)
    ★ 3.58 Goodreads (66.6K) ★ 4.46 Audible (568)

How We Rank Audiobooks

Rankings are driven by listener ratings and review counts from Audible and Goodreads. Books with high ratings across a large number of listeners rank higher — a 4.5 with 50,000 ratings says more than a 4.8 with 200.

Unlike most book lists, we weight audiobook-specific factors: narrator performance, production quality, and how well a story translates to audio. A great book with a poor narration isn't a great audiobook.

We don't accept paid placements or prioritize new releases. These rankings reflect what listeners actually enjoy, not what's being promoted.

Rankings update periodically as new ratings come in and new titles are added to the collection.

Read our full ranking methodology →